


We were meant to be.

by madly_fucked



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: 5+1 Things, Based on made up stories about how they met, First Meetings, Fluff, Grocery Store, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, Jail, Kind of AU, M/M, Shooting Range, Soulmates maybe, but not really, train crash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-20 06:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8239459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madly_fucked/pseuds/madly_fucked
Summary: No matter when and where, they will always find each other.No matter in which universe and timeline, their ways will always cross.Some people were simply meant to be. [Based on made up stories about how Tyler and Josh met.]





	1. 18th April 2009, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 0053909

**Author's Note:**

> Okay guys, so this is my first fanfiction about Twenty One Pilots.  
> English is not my first language so I'm sorry for all my mistakes.  
> This fanfiction might be a little bit confusing at the beginning, but just bare with me, please.  
> I have all chapters planed I just have to write the rest of them.  
> I hope you'll like it, so... Enjoy, folks. 
> 
> Stay alive, frens! |-/

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler: The real story of how we met... We were on the train and it got wrecked and everybody died except for us. We thought wow... Hey I'm Tyler and I'm Josh, he said "I play drums" and I was like "Let's start a band" and pretty much every song that we've written so far it's been about how we met.

**18th April 2009, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 0053909**  
  
Blue.  
Red.  
Red.  
Blue.  
The blinding police lights was all what Tyler could see. He was sitting as far as it was possible, not wanting to take part in chaos all around him.  
People were screaming, crying, talking with each other and with the police about what had just happened.  
Medical crew was walking around, checking on everybody and taking care of people in need.  
And there was he, isolating himself from everything; quiet, brown-haired boy with an icepack in his hand, holding it against his forehead.  
He hit it quite hard when a train collided with the car.  
It happened so quickly.  
In one moment he was sitting by the window, listening to music and in next he was lying on the ground with a pounding head.  
He shuddered at the memory and looked around.  
Everyone was terrified.  
Getting on the train this morning, he would never had guessed that everything would turn out like this.  
He really didn't want to think about how many people were dead and how many husbands, wives, parents and children were grieving over their beloved ones right now.  
It scared him.  
He sighed and looked down at his feet.    
God. All these pointless questions.  
What if he sat somewhere else?  
What if he wasn't sitting at all?  
Would he be dead right now?  
He took one big breathe, trying to calm himself.  
He was alive and breathing. That's what mattered the most.  
"Hey, are you ok, man?"  
Startled by a voice he quickly looked up, meeting concerned brown eyes.  
"Yeah." He replied weakly, shifting his gaze to take a good look at person standing next to him. A young man with brown fluffy hair and warm brown eyes.  
He had few scratches and wounds on his arms which were covered in dried blood just like his NASA shirt. "And you?"  
"I'm fine." The man replied, hesitantly taking one step closer. "Can I join you?"  
"Sure, yeah." Tyler tried to smile, but it looked more like a painful grimace, so he quickly gave up. "What a great way to start a day, huh?"  
"Yeah." The boy next to him replied, laughing nervously. He seemed exhausted and looked like he needed a break.  
So Tyler did exactly that by remaining silent and looking at his feet once again.  
His head was still hurting and honestly, he just wanted to go home and forget about all of this.  
But he couldn't.  
Not until the police had enough informations.  
"I'm Josh." The man - Josh - said suddenly, forcing Tyler to look up again. He nodded and tried to smile for a second time.  
"'M Tyler."  
His eyes automatically landed on Josh's arms, all that blood catching his attention.  
"Do you think it will leave scars?" He asked quietly, not sure if it was an appropriate question to ask.  
Josh only shrugged and looked down, frowning at was he saw, like he wasn't aware of how much blood covered his skin and clothes.  
"At least we have a cool story to tell, man." He said, smiling a little, trying to find a bright side of this unfortunate day.  
"Yeah, we can impress people by telling them how only we survived that stupid train crash." Tyler chuckled, putting an icepack he was holding aside.  
He started playing with his fingers, not knowing what to do with his free hands.  
He looked at tired face in front of him and found Josh already staring at him.  
"And that's how we met." He added, smiling wider, revealed that he could joke with someone about this, forgeting about dead bodies for at least few seconds.  
"Yeah, and that's how we met." Tyler agreed, nodding and laughing softly.


	2. 14th February 2007, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 0210048

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh: We were at a shooting range. I was actually... I didn't know him by the time and we're both just kind of like next to each other firing and, and I was like, kinda like having hard time like hitting, hitting the thing - it was my first time at shooting range - and he was like hitting right on a mark every single time and I was like 'Dude, can you show me some pointers?' and he just kinda like came over...  
> Tyler: Like, I got behind you, didn't I?  
> Josh: Yeah, it was like, the kinda thing, like, he put his arm around and like grabbed the gun and like... And it was awesome. So then I tried on my own and I did it and we like jumped in the air and we high fived and hugged.  
> Tyler: And then we're like...  
> Josh: Let's start a band together.  
> Tyler: Yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go again.  
> I know it seems weird and all, but I had this idea and yeah. Here I am.  
> Just wait for the last chapter and hopefully it'll make sense for you, guys.  
> Enjoy!  
> Oh! And thank you so much for all those kudos.  
> It makes me so happy, you have no idea!

**14th February 2007, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 0210048**  
  
Cold and grey walls were surrounding him from all sides, making him feel almost claustrophobic.  
He didn't like coming here.  
He hated doing this.  
What was point of practicing shooting when he knew he will never become a police officer?  
He didn't want to be one of them.  
He didn't want to be like his father.  
He sighed, put the gun aside and dragged his hands down his face.  
It was Valentine's Day, what the heck was he doing here?  
"You need to man up, Joshua." He mumbled under his breathe, repeating his dad's words. "You need to find perfect girl and marry her." He added annoyed, rolling his eyes at the same time.  
_Yeah, good luck with that_ , he thought.  
Why couldn't his parents accept that he's gay?  
It's not like he decided to be gay. It wasn't his decision.  
He was born like this.  
So why was everyone blaming him?  
He groaned out loud and picked up the gun once again, preparing himself mentally to miss his taget and fail miserably like always.  
He almost jumped out of his skin when the door opened and someone walked in.  
Eighteen year old boy looked over his shoulder, curious about the newcomer.  
A boy who looked close to his age, with brown hair sticking up like he just got out of the bed, passed him and took place in booth next to him.  
He checked his gun and few seconds later perfectly aimed shots were fired. He was good. Like, really good.  
Josh shrugged and decided to just go with it.  
Maybe his father will finally see how bad he is and give up already. Or make him practice even more.  
_Probably the latter_ , he thought bitterly.  
After few poorly aimed shots he was ready to just walk away and leave it all behind, when suddenly he heard boy next to him, who was most likely watching him, speak.  
"You're doing it all wrong, man." He said and took few steps closer. "Let me help?"  
"Uh, sure?" Josh answered with a hint of question, not being sure where this was going.  
"First of all, don't be so tense. It won't work." He told him, slapping his warm and small hands on Josh's shoulders. "Secondly, breathe out while pulling the trigger." Suddenly he made one step closer and Josh could feel the boy's chest flush against his back, hands around his own holding the gun in front of them and his warm breathe on his ear while he spoke.  
"On one breathe in, on three breathe out and pull the trigger, yeah?" He asked quietly, almost whispering, making Josh shiver.  
"Yeah." He replied quickly and tried to focus on the target in front of him, not on a boy behind him. His warmth radiating through his clothes was setting Josh's back on fire.  
All he could hear was blood rushing through his veins, his pulse thumping.  
He barely missed the next quietly said words.  
"One, two and three..."  
With a last word he pressed the trigger and while holding his breath he watched the bullet pierce the thin paper on the opposite side of a room. It landed perfectly where the heart was supposed to be.  
He laughed.  
He did it!  
He turned around and grinned at the boy behind him, noticing almost immediately how big he was smiling.  
Crooked teeth and squinty eyes.  
"Sick, man! Go ahead, try it again." He told him, taking few steps back, still watching and smiling.  
So Josh did it again, and again, and again.  
He laughed out loud and placed his gun, safety glasses and hearing protection on the small shelf in his booth. He turned around to face this amazing guy and almost knocked him out in the proces because of how close they were.  
Why were they so close?  
When did it happen?  
"Um..." Josh laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks? That was really... Helpfull, I guess."  
"Don't metion it. Glad I could help." He replied in a soft voice, casually dragging his small hand through the mess of fluffy brown hair.  
"I'm Josh, by the way. In case you were - you know - wondering." He extended his hand, his palms sweating and his fingers trembling.  
"Tyler." He smiled easily and shook his hand, not paying attention to how much the other boy was fidgeting.  
They were standing really close now and, wow.  
_He's beautiful_ , crossed Josh's mind.  
Tyler was all soft edges, big smiles, tanned skin and shining eyes.  
He was so bright.  
He didn't belong in such an ugly, dull place. Not at all.  
"Um... Thank you again." He said quietly, looking everywhere but those warm, bright brown eyes. "Tyler." He added as afterthought just to taste this beautiful name on his lips.  
"Don't worry about it, man."  
"So..." Josh mumbled, playing with his hands and throwing glances at those soft pink, _pink_ lips. "Uh..."  
Before Tyler could say something or laugh, Josh simply leaned in, pecked those beautiful, _beautiful_   lips and, and then he was gone, leaving the room as fast as bullet piercing those thin papers.  
But before the door closed, Tyler heard one last shout and then he was left alone with blushed cheeks and soft smile forming on his lips.  
"Happy Valentine's Day!" was still echoing in the grey, dull room, long after Josh left.


	3. 1st December 2005, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 0104812

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler: I'll tell you a real story, so I was working at grocery store and I was, I was the bagger and...  
> Interviewer: He's lying! He's a bad liar at that.  
> Tyler: I'm kidding! Josh was the bagger, okay? I switched it up.  
> Josh: It was my passion as a kid. I had to give up my dreams to play in a band.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter with those adorable beans being awkward.  
> And thank you for all the comments and kudos.  
> It literally makes my day!

**1st December 2005, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 0104812**  
  
Tyler hated his life.  
Ok, maybe not really, but it was his birthday, why of all of the people in his house he had to go and do groceries? On his birthday!  
It wasn't fair. So basically, Tyler hated his life.  
He walked down the aisle - twice! - looking for this one stupid thing on his list, this one stupid thing that his mum wanted so much and he still couldn't find it.  
Right. Wonderful.  
Tyler hated his life.  
He sighed and turned around, heading back to where he came from. Next he turned right, deciding to search it in another part of the store.  
It was the last thing he needed and all he truly wanted to do was go home and have his dandy party with all of his friends.  
Being stuck in this store for hours trying to find one - one! - thing wasn't on top of his 'best things to do on birthday' list.  
Tyler hated his life and life hated Tyler.  
After few minutes of walking and looking around, what felt like enternity for him, he still haven't found it.  
So he simply gave up and headed towards the cash register.  
This stupid thing just _wasn't_ there.  
Did his mother do that on purpose?  
_She totally did_ , he thought and began unloading his groceries.  
In front of him in a line stood an older man, who looked like he was in great hurry. He was mumbling something under his breathe and throwing nasty looks at the boy, who was packing his stuff for him in those ugly, plastic bags.  
_Josh_ , said the boy's nametag.  
His movements were clumsy and he seemed to be nervous, not feeling comfortable being there. His hands were trembling and he was avoiding eye contact.  
After dropping few products and struggling with stacking them, he finally packed everything and handed full bags to the man before Tyler, not receiving even a quick thank you.  
_Dipcrap_ , he thought to himself, glaring daggers at retreating man's back.  
A little bit of manners and culture never killed anyone.  
Tyler looked back at Josh, who began packing his groceries. He was being careful with everything and choosing wisely which products should be on the bottom and which one on the top. So why were some people being rude, not appreciating his work? They didn't even need to lift a finger. Everything was done for them.  
The boy still wasn't looking at anybody.  
Not that he needed any pity, but Tyler really desperately wanted to say something to him, noticing how his hands began shaking even more. This poor guy was so stressed out.  
"It's my birthday." Was what came out of his mouth, earning him weird look from the cashier and startled one from Josh.  
_Way to go, Tyler_ , he congratulated himself biting his lip and trying so hard not to grimace at his own choice of words.  
"Oh? Um, happy birthday." The boy replied quietly with weak smile, but he looked even more awkward than before.  
Tyler wanted to punch himself.  
He hated his life.  
He scratched his neck and cleared his throat. "Thanks, dude."  
Josh only nodded and looked away, returning to his task.  
He had curly brown hair, black gauges in his ears and fricking lip ring. His eyes were shaped in such a different way, making them look like something else; something special. Something to remember.  
Tyler didn't realize he was staring until the lady behind the counter caught his attention, asking him for money.  
He quickly gave her cash and turned to Josh, who was already holding out bags for him and looking at him expectantly.  
"Thanks, Josh." Slipped out of his mouth before he could even stop himself. He made funny face, cringing inwardly and looking down at the ground.  
_Geez, you're such a creep_ , he scolded himself.  
He took the bags out of Josh's hands, looked at him one last time and gave him - at least he hoped that it looked like a reassuring - smile.  
"Sick piercings, dude." Tyler told him before turning around and walking towards the exit. He needed to get out of there before he would make a complete fool of himself.  
He needed air.  
He needed space to allow himself some pity party and to dwell about how much of a loser he truly was.  
He might or might not have heard weak "thanks" from the boy.  
Well.  
That was beyond embarrassing and awkward.  
Tyler hated his life.  
Even if Tyler did offer his mum to do groceries from now on and always choose the cash register where the boy with eyes worth remembering was working at, to make casual small talk, well, nobody needed to know.  
Life hated Tyler anyway.  
Luckily, every time Josh saw him, he smiled a little bit wider and brighter and his eyes would squint while doing so.  
In those moments life didn't seem so bad to Tyler.


	4. 8th November 2009, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 1083007

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh: It's actually pretty good story. There was one time where I was thrown into the prison. Just, it was like short term prison sentence. I stole something from grocery store. I was put in my own cell, right next to the... There's like this big, huge guy tattooed all over his body and, and then on the other side of him is Tyler. He was thrown in for a murder, so he was in for a little while and anyway this guy in between us noticed that I was hitting stuff on the walls and he's kind of like playing the piano on the walls, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but he's like 'Hey, you guys should meet and like be in a band'. He didn't sing ever, he's a great singer, but he mostly did air piano.  
> Tyler: You can't sing in prison.  
> Josh: No, so he introduced us and we became great friends and we decided that we should definetly start a band.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with the next chapter.  
> Thank you for everything, once again.  
> Enjoy and don't kill me, please, cause I don't know what the heck I am doing.  
> Oh. And little bonus at the end of this chapter. Be sure to check it out!

**8th November 2009, Parallel Universe, Alternate Timeline no. 1083007**

Sleep is for the weak, they said.  
Yeah, well Josh was weak then, because he desperately needed sleep.  
But he just couldn't find himself falling asleep.  
The cold, grey walls and metal bench were keeping him awake, making him feel uneasy, anxious and uncomfortable.  
Not to mention this big, huge guy tattooed all over his body, who just kept staring at him from the opposite side of the room.  
He looked like he was able to kill someone just with one movement of his hand. And maybe he did - killed someone, that's it.  
And maybe that's why they were sitting in this cell together, after all.  
Josh lost track of the time long time ago.  
All he knew was that he just wanted to be able to get few hours of sleep.  
He got arrested few minutes after midnight and he's been sitting there restless for maybe two hours.  
So it would make it around three in the morning.  
Great.  
The police station was quiet and almost peaceful.  
Almost.  
Because those grey, cold walls were giving him this weird, unsettling vibe.  
Something about this place just made him remember that it wasn't supposed to be peaceful.  
At all.  
All what mattered in those four walls was death, violence and crime.  
No peace.  
So there was just silence.  
Violent silence.  
It made him think too much.  
Josh wasn't bad person. He just did a stupid mistake.  
It wasn't even his idea, to begin with.  
And he swears, they didn't break into this store. Someone else did. They were just passing by and his friends decided to take some stuff, like some stupid snacks, because they were stupid and drunk.  
Because the windows were already shattered and all that crap.  
And honestly, it was just their dumb luck that at the moment they choose to leave, the police arrived.  
And well, Josh's friends got away and he got arrested.  
It was stupid.  
His friends were stupid.  
And he shouldn't call them his friends, really.  
They sucked.  
Josh sighed and shifted a little bit; his back were killing him.  
He needed to do something with his life.  
Being a little bit rebellious was fun and thrilling till it lasted, but now?  
Look where it got him.  
Josh leaned his head against cool wall behind him and closed his eyes.  
He still could feel the man's eyes on him. It started to creep him out.  
Okay, maybe putting on pink sweater earlier that day - or more like yesterday - wasn't his best decision ever, but come on, how could he have possibly known that he will end up in jail?  
It's not like he willingly agreed to spend his night at police station.  
No need to stare at him like that.  
Josh pulled his sleeves a little bit lower, creating sweater paws and trying to stop his body from shivering.  
Why it had to be so cold there?  
He heard two pair of footsteps approaching, so he opened his eyes.  
The cell's door opened and third person was pushed in by a police officer, who turned out to be a young man. Tall and quite skinny, at that.  
He had black hoodie on, which seemed too big for him. His face features were soft, at least Josh thought they were, underneath the scratches, blood and bruises.  
He had busted lip and sad, _sad_ looking eyes. He seemed tired too.  
The man looked around and choose the bench Josh was sitting on, just the other end of it.  
He sat with his head down, starring at the ground.  
He kept scratching his hands, what caught Josh's attention.  
They were covered in blood.  
_Oh, great_ , he thought.  
There went his chances to talk to someone.  
Only person who seemed to be normal was probably a psychopath who killed someone.  
_Go figure, you're in jail, idiot._  
But he _really_ hoped he had it all wrong.  
Underneath it all he looked like a really soft and harmless person.  
His thoughts and staring were interrupted by police officer, who called out a name, a name of that huge guy it seemed, and took him away.  
Josh exhaled loudly.  
He felt like breathing suddenly became so much easier; like something squeezing his lungs was removed.  
"What did you do?" Soft and at the same time hoarse voice asked, making Josh look at his cellmate.  
Josh just shrugged.  
Of course everyone would ask what did you do and not if you were guilty or not.  
"Wrong place, wrong time and wrong people." He said. "My friends stole something, I got arrested." He added after few seconds. "You?"  
"I got into a fight." The man with sad eyes mumbled, scratching his hands again. "The dude was drunk, he almost got himself killed." He explained quietly, not looking at Josh. "They blame me."  
"Oh." Was all he could come up with.  
That sucked.  
Obviously it wasn't the best day for both of them.  
Guilty.  
But not really.  
Just marked with consequences of being reckless.  
And now it was too late.  
Too late to set it right.  
"He deserved it, though." He added after few second of silence.  
Josh believed him.  
He backed off into the corner and hugged himself, trying to keep himself as warm as possible.  
It wasn't ideal, but was worth a shot.  
The other man noticed and moved a little bit closer.  
"Turn around." Josh gave him a confused look and watched him as he gestured with his hand to hurry up. "With your back towards me." He explained and Josh only shrugged doing exactly that.  
He brought his legs up onto the bench and leaned his side against the wall.  
He had no idea how it was supposed to help him, but said nothing.  
After few seconds he felt the man's warm back against his own and slightly relaxed.  
"Thanks." He whispered, feeling warm weight settling on his shoulder. It was the back of a head of his cellmate, whose name he didn't even know, he realized. "I'm Josh."  
"Tyler." Hearing his soothing voice he relaxed more and allowed his own head to rest against Tyler's shoulder.  
He had a feeling it would perfectly fit in a crook of brunette's neck.  
It wasn't ideal either, but sharing body heat made him feel a little bit better.  
Both of them sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts; thinking about regrets, what ifs and what was awaiting them around the corner.  
"We'll be fine, right?" Quiet but sudden question startled them both. Josh almost wished he'd never opened his mouth.  
"Yeah, we will." They knew it was only empty words but somehow Tyler's gentle voice made it easier to believe.  
Shortly after that Tyler began humming something softly and Josh found himself finally falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Jishwa in pink sweater for you guys. When I saw this I had to make him wear it in my chapter.  
> https://s12.postimg.org/d3890a7rx/1476292746488.png  
> You're welcome!


End file.
